


Awakened

by PhoenixPhaedrana



Series: Underbolt [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Backstory, Fluff, Rescue, idk how to tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 13:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20892824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixPhaedrana/pseuds/PhoenixPhaedrana
Summary: He's suffering... he's not had an easy time of things so far, but that will change soon.





	Awakened

**Author's Note:**

> Ahah, this one's a wild ride so buckle up! 
> 
> I tagged it with 'Graphic Depictions Of Violence' bc while it isn't graphic, (it can't be lol), it's certainly brutal.
> 
> Also, this one IS actually canon!

Footsteps were approaching. Not again! He wanted to sleep! He was so. Tired. Not that he knew, of course. This exhaustion... It was how it had always been, and it was how it always would be. That being said, the only thing he could look forward to was sleep. Sleep where the pain couldn’t follow him.  _ They _ were here now, lifting him from the place he had been lying. It was hard and cold, but that was all he had known. He made a sound of protest.  _ They _ made a noise. The noise meant nothing to him. Only, he knew it was bad. Suddenly, pain ran through his body. Oh, that’s right. He wasn’t supposed to do that, not yet. It was strange to him, they only seemed to like him making noise at certain times. He would listen. 

He felt movement. He felt himself being put down onto something hard once more. He felt a tremor of dread run through him. This was the part he didn’t like. And yet… it was so familiar. He felt the hard coldness on his wrists and ankles. Then the pain started. It blossomed across his chest, and the Bad Smell filled the air. He had learned that the Bad Smell meant pain for him. He made sounds. His mind was clouded by pain and some panic. It hurt  _ much  _ worse than usual. Or did it? He couldn’t remember… so many times… it had all started to blend together in his mind, until there was only pain. He heard The Voice. It was softer and smoother than the others, and had an unmistakable authority about it. He didn’t like The Voice. It liked to hurt him most. He cried out again. The pain sometimes stopped quicker if he did that. No such luck this time.

The Voice made a sound. It was strange… for reasons he couldn’t yet fathom, the sound should have made him  _ feel _ better… but it didn’t. It only sent chills down his spine. He felt The Voice’s hands on him, and he gasped as the pain lessened. Whatever had been hurting him had stopped, and there was only the residual pain from the Bad Smell. At least, that’s what his theory was. Each breath was painful, yet he had learned that he couldn’t stop breathing a long time ago. He had tried, but it had proved fruitless. He was slammed back to the present by a sudden, ugly cracking sound, Bad Smell, and more intense pain. The Voice was hurting him. He whimpered, too scared even to scream. The Voice scared him, more than the pain. It was almost always there when he was in this place. The Voice hurt him. He could not remember a time when it hadn’t. Indeed, there hadn’t been one. 

~~~*-----*~~~

Some time after he was back in the place where he normally was, he heard sounds. He didn’t like the sounds. They were the sounds he made when pain happened. He heard others, too. New voices. Voices he hadn’t heard before. There was that sound again. The one the voice made when he cried out. The one that should be good but wasn’t. A cascading series of notes downward. But this time, something else made it. It didn’t sound like any of the voices he knew, it was… sharper, lower. Something inside of him  _ longed _ for that, but he held himself back. He could still hear the pain place nearby, with a sort of low buzzing. If he went to the pain place, there would be a tingling kind of agony. That was all he knew. 

~~~*-----*~~~

Everything was quiet. Quieter than it had ever been in his life. He stayed in that place for an untold amount of time. Eventually, he became aware that he had been here far longer than normal before  _ they _ came back to make him hurt. He heard more footsteps, right outside. A voice said something, in a tone he didn’t often hear. It sounded like The Voice, but softer… less scary. Still, not taking chances, he cowered, moving as far back as the tiny space would allow. His spine was pressed up against the hard coldness that surrounded his tiny world. Pain seared through him as he curled up into a ball, but he ignored it. He didn’t like this. He whimpered slightly, even though he knew he shouldn’t. The new voice made a sound. It was a nicer sound than he had ever heard. He felt its hand on his shoulder and warmth like he had never felt spread through him, concentrated at his chest. The pain vanished. He cried out again and cringed away from the hand on him. The hand was withdrawn, but the new voice kept making sounds, constantly. The sounds made him feel warm on the inside, somehow. But the cold fear drowned out everything else.

~~~*-----*~~~

After some amount of time, curiosity overwhelmed his fear. Surely, it would have hurt him by now? Perhaps it was waiting for him to make the first move? If that were the case, he should just wait here. But he could feel himself weakening. He just wanted to sleep! But maybe… that wonderful warmth could take away the awful aches he was now feeling inside himself. 

Slowly, uncertainly, he edged towards the voice. Like a dog that expects to be beaten, he crawled over to it. He felt a soft, gentle hand on his head. He flinched back, expecting agony at any moment, but none came. The hand withdrew once more and, after a few minutes, he edged that much closer to the new voice. He was right next to it. He didn’t quite know why, but he reached out to touch it, as a kitten might touch water. The figure didn’t move. He continued poking at it. He found parts like his, but not… He couldn’t put his hand through holes in the chest the way he could with his. It was the same for the hands. Fear subsiding, for the most part, he began to use what he had long ago found was his most effective tool to explore the world around him. His tongue. The new voice made a small sound as he felt over its hand and forearm using his tongue. It tasted… sweet. But there was salt, too. These were new flavors to him. He flinched back, but feeling no pain, continued exploring. 

After allowing him to explore it for a while, the new voice placed its hand on his head once more. This time, he didn’t flinch away. He felt warmth, and as though some void was being filled. He slowly, hesitantly, moved closer to it. Eventually, he was on its lap, curled up and nuzzling comfortably against its chest. 

He felt tears slide down his face. He never wanted this to stop, he wanted to stay like this forever. For the first time in his life, he actually liked something. He felt good inside, but that awful aching was still there. The new voice made some noises. He couldn’t help but think that he was meant to do something, so he made more sounds back at it. He felt it breathe out, and he did the same. It felt good. He jumped as something was placed over him. Panic rose inside of him again as he felt himself unable to move as much, a large, soft thing on him restricting his movement. He heard another sound, and it sounded… sad. The thing was removed, much to his relief. He wasn’t aware of it, but he was shaking with cold. The voice made more sounds in that same, good tone of voice. This time when the thing was placed on top of him he understood he wasn’t supposed to struggle. He forced himself to stay still, and he felt the new voice’s arms go around him.

~~~*-----*~~~

Olive sighed, looking down at the skeleton in her arms. She was glad she had managed to wrap him in the blanket, he had clearly been cold. “You’ve never worn clothes, have you?” She asked sadly. The skeleton looked up at her, eyes wide and expression fearful. “Don’t worry,” she said, in a more soothing voice. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Soothed by her tone, his tensed body relaxed in her arms and he rested his head back against her.. “I’m just going to pick you up now. It’s all going to be ok…” she kept talking in the same soothing tone as she stood. He let out a startled gasp and clutched at her shirt. She kept talking as she turned and walked out of that accursed place, never to return.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy ending? Happy ending. Any canon stories featuring Cobalt will likely be fluffy from now on... but don't quote me on that. (I love writing angst)


End file.
